Guests 2023
She began her professional career at Acteurs Auteurs Associés in Paris where she joined Président Films as Technical and Export Manager. She later continued in the same position in the Film department at France Télévisions Distribution in Paris. At the beginning of 2005, she joined the CITIA team, where she worked as a Sales Assistant for MIFA before taking on the job of Sales Manager until 2011, then of MIFA's Head of Projects until 2018, in charge of developing and marketing the spaces and events for the film Market.
Trilingual, Christophe Erbes has created and managed many children channels in Europe. He develops brands and writes books, bibles and screenplays for series and films, including OSCAR & HOO with Michael Dudok de Wit. He's a partner in Godo Films production company, curates and hosts several media conferences and the DellucJr Awards for the Best French Independant Films for Children as President of an art house cinema's association. ``I believe we become adult not by forgetting but understanding childhood.``
She coordinates Citizen Kids, a division of Citizen Skull, focused on children’s entertainment. She is also a creative consultant, some of her clients are Discovery Kids Latin America, Kid Glove Creative, Portfolio Entertainment and Cinema Fantasma. As Vice-President at Starz Animation Toronto, she produced ``9`` and ``Gnomeo and Juliet``. Previously, she had been Sr. Director of Development of Original Series at Cartoon Network.
Ron Dyens created Sacrebleu in 1999. Since then, he produced more than 90 films (shorts, features and series) which received more than 2000 selections over the world (Cannes, Sundance, Berlinale, Oscars, TIFF, Venice) and prestigious awards (Palme d'Or, Silver Bear, César...). He also directed 5 short films selected in Cannes, Clermont-Ferrand. He's a member of the Oscars Academy of Motion Pictures, the César Academy, Unifrance and the Union of Independent Producers (SPI).
Multiple awarded international film and TV maker from the Netherlands. His work is known by his philosophy ‘Children in the Centre’, based on the belief in the autonomy of children and anarchy in content. Since 2014 he is fully dedicated to create, produce and support internationally; his work has expanded to over 60 countries worldwide. Before 2014, he was a.o. the creative head of KRO Netherlands Public Broadcasting for 16 years in which he created and produced over 125 films, programs and series and was the head of several terrestrial and digital channels.
Director of the Quirino Ibero-American Animation Awards, an initiative that emerged in 2017 to recognize the best of animation made in the region, and to generate ties and cooperation between all the countries that make up the region. She is also coordinator of Weird Market, International Animation, Videogames and New Media Market; as well as producer of Next Lab, a new initiative that connects art and technology in the animation industry and digital content.
Founder of Pixelatl, an association looking to spark off and promote Mexican creative industries in the world by creating alliances with organisms interested in the audiovisual ecosystem. He has been member of the jury for several animation festivals and he is director of Animotora, a business incubator conceived and designed to identify, teach and support creative entrepreneurs willing to venture to the international industry.
Director of Weird, the International Animation, Videogames and New Media Market, and executive producer of the Quirino Awards for Iberoamerican Animation. He has recently created a new initiative that connects art and technology in the animation industry and digital content, which has 2 associated events: Next Lab Generation in Madrid and Next Lab Finance & Tech in Navarra. He is also a member of the board of directors of DIBOOS, Spanish Federation of Animation Producers Associations, and Pixel Cluster Madrid.
Since 2001, Nicolas Schmerkin produced or coproduced with his company Autour de Minuit more than 80 animation or hybrid shorts, most of them award winners in major international festivals (Obras, Dix, Flesh, Lonely Bones, A Town called Panic, Peripheria, Decorado, Homeless Home, Empty Places), including the Academy Award Winner Logorama. Autour de Minuit is also producing several animation shows (Jean-Michel Super Caribou, No-No, Freaked-Out) and feature film projects (Unicorn Wars by Alberto Vazquez and The Shadows by Nadia Micault).
Writer and director specialized in projects for young audiences in the genres of fantasy, coming of age, mystery, adventure and horror. She directed the short films 'El retrato de la peste', 'La ventana abierta' and 'Despierta', and her Opera Prima 'El Muglur' will be shot in Mexico in 2024. In her work as a screenwriter, she has participated in developments for Disney Mexico, Videocine and Filmland International, also writing for series that premiered with great success and received nominations for the EMMY Kids International Award, the Prix Jeunesse and the Martin Fierro among others.
With a degree in TV Production and Directing, she has more than 18 years of experience in Media. She is currently Original Production Manager at Warner Bros. Discovery, where she oversees productions for Kids and Animation content. She is in charge of the series Mini Beat Power Rockers, Underdogs United and Agent Binky. Before joining WBD, Soledad worked as Executive Producer in children's projects such as Veloz Mente and Hi5 Fiesta. Previously, she worked in multiple formats for Telefe, Gourmet.com, TV Pública.
He is Director of Kids & Animation Programming at Warner Bros. Discovery Latam. He is responsible for Multiplatform Programming and Content Planning Strategy with a focus on streaming and linear. His role also includes editorial curation for portfolio brands and children's and young people's content in general. His experience of more than 11 years in the audio-visual market includes companies in the sector. Martin has a degree in Communication.
Independent filmmaker. Specialist in Media and Children. Photographer, format developer, scriptwriter, teacher and content consultant in Spain, Peru, Chile, Colombia, The Netherlands, Germany, Mexico, South Africa and Japan. Former Content Director of Pakapaka. Partner of the Children in the Centre foundation. Representative of the Prix Jeunesse Suitcase workshops and the WADADA News for Kids network (Free Press Unlimited). Member of the Advisory Council for Audiovisual Communication and Children and moderator of debates at the Japan Prize.
In his more than 30 years of experience in animation, his works have won awards from Anima Mundi, Chicago Film Festival, Divercine, Chilemonos, and Prix Jeunesse. He is the creator and director of the series Cuarto de Jobi, Cuenta Conmigo and Mi AmigaZazo, broadcasted in more than 100 countries. He was president of ABCA (Brazilian Animation Association), evaluator and project consultant for CORFO (Chile) and PROIMAGENES (Colombia). This year he released the feature film Mi AmigaZazo. In 2023 will be the time of the series El Hotel Silvestre de Ana Flor.
Chilean digital animator, professor at the Universidad Mayor, co-founder of Estudio Morrón and director of ¡Vamos Mandy! Her work has been focused on project creation, direction and audiovisual production. Together with her studio, she has participated in different pitch events such as Girl Power Pitch Me - Pixelatl, CN 5th Pitch - Chilemonos and Fanchile fest in which the project ``El talismán de Sunny`` was the winner in 2019. She is currently the director of the first series produced by their studio ¡Vamos Mandy! which will premiere in 2024.
Co-founder of Birdo animation studio since 2005, is a versatile talent. With a background in architecture from FAU-USP, she transitioned from 3D art for educational software to animation. After training in digital animation at Sheridan College, she co-founded Birdo with Paulo Muppet. Luciana has worn multiple hats in over awarsws 100 projects, from shorts to the Rio 2016 Olympic mascots. She now leads a team of 100+ artists, creating content for major broadcasters like Cartoon Network, Netflix, Nickelodeon and Gloob.
Director, and co-founder of LISTO CALISTO! Animation, a studio dedicated to providing animation services, creating content, and developing original IPs. She has collaborated on a diverse range of projects as an animator and creative director, working on TV productions for Cartoon Network and Disney. She has been honored with the Pixelatl Award at Animation! Pitching Sessions-Ventana Sur 2021, and the Cartoon Network's Girl Power 4 Award at Pixelatl 2022. Her original series project ``KADDY: The Fabulous Sorceress of Chaos`` premiered its pilot episode in 2023 on Cartoon Network.
He is Chairman of Dublin-based distribution, production and brand management Company, Monster Entertainment, formed in 1998. Monster distributes animation and Music TV programming around the world and has sold programmes in over 200 countries. Among the hits are Ireland’s The Day Henry Met and Video Killed the Radio Star. The company has co-produced 4 animation and it has developed 2 animated features, and has become involved in the distribution. Before Monster, he ran the Don Bluth companies, which included Europe’s largest animation studio, employing over 420 people, for over 10 years.
A director and screenwriter from Peru based in Paris, she holds a degree in cinema and animation from the National School of Dramatic Arts (ENSAD, Paris) and in screenwriting from La Fémis (Paris). She has more than 20 years of experience training artists in visual narrative, cinema and interactive media. She is currently a teacher at Gobelins L'École de L'image (Paris) and an art and creative director at CNAM-ENJMIN (Angoulême).
After concluding his Astronomy studies in Oporto, Belerique changed course and focused on visual arts, mainly on 3D modelling. He has worked in different fields, such as dissemination of scientific knowledge, artistic education, illustration and comics. Since 2011, he has worked as a video game artist at Tequila Works, where he took part in projects such as ‘Deadlight’ (Environmental artist), ‘RiME’ (Lead artist) and ‘GYLT’ (Concept and 3D Artist).
He began his career in TV series such as “The Flintstones” and “The Smurfs”. He has contributed animation to successful films such as “Asterix and Caesar’s Surprise,” “Around the World with Alvin and the Chipmunks” and “In Search of the Enchanted Valley”. His work in “Who framed Roger Rabbit?” helped him land a job at Disney, where he worked for 9 years on the animation of characters such as “Aladdin”. He is a member of the Film Academies of Hollywood and of Spain and of the Writers Guild of America and ASIFA Hollywood.
She studied cinema and TV at the National University of Cordoba. For more than 15 years, she has worked in animation. In 2013, she founded Osa Estudio, where she produces and directs series and short films. Her productions have been selected and received prizes at international festivals (Annecy, Prix Jeunesse Internacional, Quirino Prizes). She teaches animation at the National Cinema School ENERC (Buenos Aires) and in the Blaise Pascal University (Cordoba).
Designer, illustrator and audiovisual director, in 2008 she founded Pájaro, a content and animation production company from which she has developed animated projects in various formats. Among her nominations, the following stand out: IEmmy, Annecy, Pixelatl, Prix Jeunesse, Manchester. Awarded in: Quirino Awards, Cinanima, Prix Jeunesse Iberoamericano and Chilemonos, among others. Creator of 'Clarita', the first animated series produced in Chile. Director of the series 'Helados', 'Kocorocó', 'Hostal Morrison' (broadcasted by Cartoon Network) and 'Petit', and the short films '#NormaDeGéneroBinaria: niñas' and 'Frontera'.
Audiovisual Communicator specialized in Television, with a Diploma in Communication and Public Policy from the University of Chile. She began her career at TVN and joined the Promotion Department of CNTV in 2010. With more than 13 years of experience in the public sector, she has promoted public-private collaboration and supervised 300+ projects. Currently, she is in charge of Project Management at the same institution.
He gained degrees at Urbino University (in literature, art & foreign cultures) and at Bologna University (in film, tv & multimedia production). Since 2004 he has grown his professional skills in advertising sales for the trade press (including Le film français and Cannes Market News) and in film markets (such as The Business Street, MIA Market). In 2020 he became project manager of the innovative platform Heritage Online. He’s currently Head of Locarno Pro, running the Festival’s Industry, and he is also founder of the portuguese animation production company: Spamflix.
General producer and programming director of SHORTS MEXICO. General coordinator of the event CANNES EN CDMX, organized by the Marché du Film de Cannes. Film producer of works selected and exhibited in more than 150 international film festivals. His productions have obtained 4 Ariel Award nominations from the Mexican Academy of Arts (AMACC), being credited to this award for the film ‘Aztech’ for Best Visual Effects. He has co-produced with companies such as NETFLIX, VIDEOCINE, TELEVISA, etc. and with government agencies in China, Quebec, France, etc. He is responsible for the SHOW SHORTS section at Ventana Sur.
Independent animation filmmaker. His author work focuses on animation for adults, with a political twist. The short films “El Empleo” and “PADRE”, were selected in more than 500 Festivals and received more than 200 International Awards. In 2019 he founded Ojo Raro, an animation production space which aims to produce genre animation for adults with a south american queer perspective. “Carne de Dios” is Ojo Raro’s first project, being selected at the Official Competition in Annecy, receiving awards in Mar del Plata Film Festival and Guadalajara Film Festival, among others.
Executive Director of Latinlab, an NGO dedicated to the study and research of media and children in Argentina and Latam. Specialist in content and production for children in different formats, she is a founding member of the public channel Pakapaka in Argentina, being later its General Producer. Afterwards, she took over the direction of TECtv channel for its relaunching and was part of the Original Production Department of Discovery Kids Latam as Manager leading international co-production developments. Since 2023 she has been a member of the Board of Directors of MIA, Iberoamerican Association of Women in the Animation Industry based in Spain.
Freelance production, development, film marketing and international sales and acquisitions consultant with over 15 years of work experience in the film industry. In 2018, she joined the sales company Sola Media where she is currently overseeing acquisitions and development and used to hold the position of Sales and Acquisitions Manager at Picture Tree International until 2016. She is Co-Head of Studies at the Audience and Market Strategies training program for producers at FOCAL in Switzerland. She works as a script coach and creative producer on international co-productions.
He comes from the digital world, where he has over 14 years of experience working on web/TV integrated projects. He is in charge of managing children’s productions and co-productions and interactive developments for Radio Televisión Española Corporation. During his professional career, he has worked as editor for interactive and online areas of important audiovisual companies such as Fox Kids Europe and Jetix Entertainment Spain. He specialized in digital strategy and transmedia approach for children’s entertainment.
Bachelor of Science in Communication, with studies in tv, film, script and editing. Specialist in design and development of audiovisual projects, acquisition and sale of content, mainly in documentary and animation. She worked in the selection of projects and as jury of markets, festivals and funds. Advisor in the area of distribution, financing, co-production and internationalization. She coordinates the AFROLATAM Documentary Laboratories (Spain); the Valencia Platform (Spain) and she was part of the team of international tutors of the INCAA (Argentina).
Media researcher and producer focused on digital and audiovisual content for kids. Head of Pakapaka channel in Argentina, she is actively involved in the local and international children’s audio-visuals production with more than 20 years of experience. She has developed contents and formats for different channels and institutions in Latam.
Film producer graduated from INCAA’s film school ENERC. He has worked in the audiovisual industry for more than 15 years, he was part of the production team in many national features and foreign production services carried out in the country, and he worked as producer in TV shows. In 2014, he joined the project development team of the TV channel for children Pakapaka and he is currently responsible for the area.
Consultant in communication and childhood and producer of cultural contents for children. She has a degree in Communication Sciences from the University of Buenos Aires and a Master in Sociology of Culture, IDAES, UNSAM. She is part of Latinlab, an NGO dedicated to culture and children. She was part of the team that created Canal Pakapaka, where she is currently Head of content.
Image and Sound Designer (UBA). In 2012 she joined the FilmSharks sales area, specializing in films from Latam and Spain. In 2017 she attended the Business and Management of Entertainment program in Los Angeles, UCLA Extension. She collaborated with AMBI Distribution and Blue Fox Ent. Since 2019 she is an international sales executive at CMG.
Producer. Current Head of Taller del Chucho, an animation studio founded by Guillermo del Toro, where part of his stop motion film Pinocchio was produced. She was Second Unit: Production Supervisor of this animation. Taller del Chucho is a studio created to incentivize the industry of animation. She has been head of this studio since 2021. She was also head of Industry and Market at Guadalajara International Film Festival. In this festival, she also worked as the Coordinator of Coproduction Meetings and Guadalajara Construye - WIPs.
She serves as Content Acquisitions Sr. Manager for the kids and family branded services at The Walt Disney Company Latin America and is in charge of scouting and negotiating the acquisition of content for Disney Channel, Disney Junior and Disney+ in the region since November 2007. Among her responsibilities are dealing with international content producers and distributors and searching for new content available in the market based on the services’ needs.
He runs STUDIO SEUFZ, an independent animation studio located in Stuttgart, Germany. The studio produces 2D films and games for young adults, with a focus on genre-bending IPs such as ``The Longing`` and ``Lucky Tower.`` Stefan oversees the entire spectrum of production, encompassing short and feature films, games, virtual reality experiences, and live events like the “Night of Shame”. Stefan is also active as an educator and member of several animation-related associations.
Professional in Economics and Data Scientist, with experience in media and the music industry. He has been 19 years at Leader Entertainment / El Reino Infantil, serving as Financial Director and then as Operations Director. In 2006, he started producing 3D animation for children, creating 'La Granja de Zenón', 'Canciones del Zoo', among others. Under his leadership, the department achieved ISO 9001 certification in 2019, ensuring quality in animated content production.
André Pereira is a writer/producer focused on creating original content for major studios and streaming platforms. His first film was Mato sem Cachorro, a box-office hit with over one million spectators. His 2017 film O Rastro broke records for Brazilian horror. In 2019 and 2020, he was awarded at Animation! Pitches in Ventana Sur for two animated projects: The Bird Kingdom and Bring on the Revolution.
He is Outsider Pictures founder and its CEO since 2005. Outsider is a Los Angeles based Sales Agent and North American Distributor. The company specializes in releasing Latin American and Indian films, both feature and documentary films across theatrical, video, television and online media but also releases other International films.
NEO Films is a film distribution company based in Athens, Greece, launched in 2014 by brothers, Spyros and Nicolas Damianakis, both of who worked in Los Angeles at international film sales and production companies. NEO Films is focused on all rights acquisitions with an emphasis on wide theatrical releases in Greece and Cyprus. More than 200 titles have been acquired and licensed with a key focus on horror and animation genres in the past few years. Notable horror releases include “Talk To Me”, “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey”, etc. Notable animation releases include “Pil’s Adventures, “Just Super”, etc.
Founder of Pulpa Rights, legal and business strategy consulting firm for animation projects, focused on building IPs. Lawyer specialized in intellectual property and new technologies. Professor of legal aspects for creators and creatives. President of MIA and mentor of young professionals and entrepreneurs in the entertainment sector.
He previously managed the Argentine subsidiary of BF Distribution, overseeing the releases of franchises such as 'John Wick', 'SAW' and also Argentine cinema, such as Juan J. Campanella's 'El Cuento de las Comadrejas'. Previously, he worked with Bernardo Zupnik at Distribution Company, handling major international markets and releases such as 'Slumdog Millionaire', 'Insidious', 'Final Destination', 'Million Dollar Baby', and Argentine directors such as Pablo Trapero, Daniel Burman, J. J. Campanella, Paula Hernandez and Lucia Puenzo.
Experienced Creative Director and founder of Tropics Creative. We are an unconventional animation studio, embracing our working method known as Clever Creativity. We approach every project with a creative mindset to develop solutions that really stand out. Tropics Creative prides itself in offering high volume, high quality 2D and 3D animation services to meet all your pre-production, production and post-production needs.
Italian based in Barcelona, she has been part of the Filmax team since 2010. After 5 years managing international sales in Eastern Europe and part of Asia, Irene became in charge of the international marketing of the films distributed by Filmax. In 2017 she started to actively participate in international acquisitions. In 2020 she was selected as a Member of the Advisory Committee for the Promotion of Spanish Festivals (ICAA) and had the position for 2 years. In recent years she has participated as a jury member in several Industry events.
Lawyer, Actress and Master in Political Communication. She worked as project coordinator and legislative advisor at the Media Observatory 'Fucatel' and the Association of Film and Television Producers. She was a member of the Arts and Audiovisual Industry Council of the Chilean Ministry of Culture for two terms, where she participated in the design and execution of programs for audiovisual production and promotion. Jury member of the Platinum Awards and TAL Awards. Since 2022, she has been director of the Promotion Department of the National Television Council.
Graduated in Law from the University of São Paulo, specialized in International Law from Université Paris-Dauphine, she has been working for 18 years in the film and TV industry. Producer of audiovisual works, experienced in international co-productions, responsible for projects shown and awarded in Cannes, Locarno, Berlin and Toronto. She produced TV series in partnership with Disney, Turner, Discovery, etc. At Barry Company she leads projects and productions, including co-productions with Israel, Portugal, Uruguay and France, and TV series in partnership with Disney, Amazon, Globo, ESPN and Netflix.
Graduated in Public Relations, specialized in Marketing, she has more than 20 years of experience in coordinating creative economy projects and national and international cultural events. Currently Business Manager at Barry Company, prospecting new projects and promoting the company's films and series internationally. Trade Promotion and Communication at Cinema do Brasil during 8 years, responsible for Brazilian companies in audiovisual festivals and international markets. Institutional Relations Manager at Buriti Filmes, and Coordinator of Creative Economy Projects at the British Council São Paulo.
Executive and general producer of 'El jardín de Clarilú' Disney Jr, winner of an Emmy International Kids Awards 2013 for Best Children's Program, 'Playground' (Arg-Brazil-Mexico) 4 temp, 'Morko y Mali' latam 2 temp, 'Nivis, amigos de otro mundo' latam 2 temp, 'Selenkay', to premiere in 2024 on Disney+ 2 temp, fiction for Disney +, 'Nivis', recently nominated for the Emmys, and Cohn and Duprat's series 'Nada' for Star+ with Brandoni and Robert de Niro (premiered 11-10-23).
After 12 years working for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the audiovisual field in several countries, he directed between 2015 and 2018 the film department of Ecla, the cultural agency of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. From 2018 to 2022 he was General Delegate of the Biarritz Amérique Latine festival, dedicated to the cinemas and cultures of Latin America. Since September 2022, he has been serving as Regional Audiovisual Attaché at the French Embassy in Argentina.
Award winning Director, nominated for the Student Academy Awards-Oscars® and active member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences-Oscars ®. His works have been selected for the Critics Week and the Directors Fortnight at the Cannes Festival. He received the Diosa de Plata award from the Mexican Film Critics Association-PECIME. Executive Director of Cine Qua Non Lab, organization that supports independent filmmakers from around the world by offering script-residency workshops in Morelia and in New York.
Graduated in Production at EICTV, Audiovisual Direction at Universidad de las Artes. Graduated from the National School of Arts in Acting. Executive Producer of GatoRosafilms based in Havana. In teaching she has worked in the careers of directing, scriptwriting and production. As a producer she has participated in markets such as Mafiz, Visions du reel, Biarritz and Film Market in Cannes. Her Opera Prima 'La levedad de ella' is in development stage with an extensive tour in BoliviaLab, Cine Qua Non Lab and the Ibermedia Program.